Pedal-action for pianos.



T. H. LUNDE & R. MOE. PEDAL ACTION FOR PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1910.

1,090,487. Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

VJ I Rudolf/1408 W fly COLUMBIA PLANDGRAFH CO-IWASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES T OFFICE.

THEODORE H. LUNDE AND RUDOLF MOE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PEDAL-ACTION FOR PIANOS.

invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pedal-Actions forPianos; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which forma part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in pedal actions for pianos, andthe invention consists in. the matters hereinafter set forth and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an improved arrangementof the three pedals of the pedal action, whereby the pedals may bereadily distinguished one from the other by the touch of the foot of theplayer, thereby avoiding the necessity of peeping under the key-board tolocate the pedals by sight.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved horn pedalwherein the pedal body and horn are made from a single piece of sheetmetal by a suitable swaging or stamping operation, and to provide animproved means of attaching the pedal to the pedal shank.

Other objects of the invention are,to provide an improved form of pivottrunnion or lug for the pedal shanks; to provide an improved hinge orpivot spring for the swinging levers of the pedal action; to provide animproved means for connecting the levers with their hinge or pivotsprings; to provide means for longitudinally adjusting said levers ontheir pivot mountings with relation to the pedals; to provide animproved connection between the pedal props and the pedal shanks, and tootherwise improve the general construction of pedal actions.

As shown in the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pedalaction embodying our invention, the toe rail being par tially brokenaway to expose the action to view. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectionalview, illustrating in plan view the relative arrangement of the middleand outer pedals, and the manner of pivotally mounting the same, showinga modified form of pedal Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 11, 1910.

Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

Serial No. 566,457.

bracket. Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the fittlngs at the ends of thepedal action levers. Fig. 4 illustrates the means for fixedly attachingthe pedal actuated levers to the hinge or pivot springs. Fig. 5 is asection on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section ofone of the side pedals. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on the line 77 ofFig. 6. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of pedal, showingits pivotal mounting and showing the toe rail in horizontal section.Fig. 9 is a transverse section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8, lookingforwardly. Fig. 10 is an end view of the pedal shown in Fig. 8 and itspivot mounting.

Certain of the features of the present invention relate moreparticularly to and are an improvement on the construction shown in theprior United States Patent to Rudolf Moe, Number 785,969, granted March28th, 1905, while other features of the invention are capable of moregeneral adaptation.

As shown in the drawing, 15 designates the toe rail of the piano and 16the bottom or base thereof.

17, 17, designate the side pedals and 18 the middle pedal. Said pedals'extend through openings in the toe rail and are pivoted to brackets 20,20 and 21 attached to the bottom or base 16, the side pedals beingfulcrumed at their rear ends to the brackets 20, while the middle pedalis shown as fulcrumed between its ends to. the bracket 21. Theillustrated arrangement of the middle pedal is for use with a muffler.If used for the sostenuto or base sustainer efiect, said pedal will befulcrumed at its end, as in the case of the side pedals.

22, 22 and 23 designate vertically swinging levers which are operativelyconnected at the center of the piano with the pedals and at their outerends are adapted for connection with the parts of the piano mechanismwhich they control, in a manner not herein shown. The levers 22, 23 aremounted between their enos on hinge or pivot springs, designated as awhole by 24;, which are arranged to permit the levers to swingvertically and which operate also to restore the levers and the partswhich they control to normal position when pressure is released from thepedals.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7. the shanks of the pedals each comprisetwo flat parallel bars 25, 25 arran ed vertically edgewise. The bars ofeach shank may be made from a single strip of metal, the strip beingbent at its center to form the closed rear end of the shank, and thefree ends of the strip of each shank being brought together and fixedlyattached to the pedals 17, 17 and 18 in a manner hereinafter to bedescribed.

As shown in Figs. 2, 6 and 7, the pivot brackets 20, 21 are arch shaped,the ends being formed to provide feet 26 by which they are attached tothe bottom or base 16. The vertical members of the brackets betweenwhich the pedal shanks extend, are provided with pivot apertures 27which are engaged by pivot lugs 28 extending in 0pposite directions fromthe members of the shank. As shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 10, these pivotbrackets 68 are made of two parts which are adapted to the pedal shanksassociated therewith, as will hereinafter more fully appear. its afurther improvement, the said pivot lugs 28 are made integral \Vlbllsaid shank members, they being punched outwardly therefrom in the formof conical lugs, the outer or smaller ends of which engage said pivotapertures 27. The two vertical members of each bracket 20, 91 areadapted to be adjusted toward and from each other and to the pivot lugs,before the bracket is fastened to the base, by means of a screw 29 vhichpasses loosely through one of the bracket members and is screw-threadedto the other member. In order that the middle pedal may be adaptedeither to a sostenuto or muliler device, the shank thereof is shown asprovided with two pairs of pivot lugs 28, one near its outer end and oneat its middle.

The connections between the inner ends of the levers and and the pedalshanks comprise vertically arranged props 31, 31 and 32 which areloosely connected at their lower ends to the pedal shanks and at theirupper ends to fittings 33 fixed to the inner ends of said lovers. Thesaid fittings 83 comprise split sleeves which embrace the levers attheir ends and are provided with apertnred lugs 3a through which theprops extend. The sleeved fittings are fastened to the levers by screws3-4: extending through lugs 34?. Similar fittings are mounted on theouter ends of said levers for connection with the links or rods (notshown) by which the levers are connected to the parts which theycontrol. The levers shown are made of round bars or rods but may be ofother cross section and may be otherwise arranged. for the connection ofthe props thereto. The props 81 which connect the outer or side pedalsto said levers consist of plain rods that are headed at their lower endsand are screw-threaded at their upper ends. The lower ends of said rodsextend downwardly between the side members of the pedal shanks andthrough openings in plates 35 which are clamped to the shank by means ofscrew bolts 36 and clamping bars 36, as shown in Fig. 6. The upperscrew-threaded ends of the props 31. extend upwardly through theapertured lugs 34: of the inner fittings 33 and receive nuts 38 by whichthe said props are connected to the fittings. The heads 39 at the lowerends or" the props 31 are preferably made convex or hall round at theirupper sides and oppose the correspondingly shaped sockets formed on thelower faces of the plates 35 around the holes in said plates, as clearlyshown in Fig. 6. This arran ement of the prop heads and bearing platesholds the props centrally in the holes of the plates and prevents theprops striking against the plates around said holes and avoids rattlingof the parts. Said sockets also constitute seats to receive felt washers39 interposed between the heads and the plates 35, and the provision ofthe socket and convex head avoids chafing and wear on the washer by saidhead. The lugs 34.- of the fittings 33 may likewise be provided withconcave sockets to receive washers that are interposed between said lugsand the coacting parts of the props (see Fig. 3).

The prop 32 acts under compression to transmit motion from the pedal tothe lever 23. It may have the form of a dowel, com prising the bodyportion 4:0 and pins driven into the ends thereof. It is interposedbetween the fittings 33 Oill the lever 23 and a plate ll fastened to thepedal shank by means of a screw bolt t2 and a clamping bar 43, as shownin Figs. 1 and 2.

As a further {111C separate improvement the horns 45 of the pedals aremade integral with the bodies 46, l? thereof, and said pedal bodies andhorns are formed from sheet metal by a swaging or stamping operation.The said combined sheet metal pedal bodies and horns are formed alsowith rearwardly extending arms d8, 48 which are arranged in overlappingrelation to the front ends of the pedal shanks and are rigidl fixedthereto, as by means of the rivets e9, %9 extending through said armsand the pedal shank members. When the pedal shanks are made of a singlestrip of metal, with the free ends thereof brought together at the frontend of the shank, a filling piece 50 may be interposed between the endsof the strip to hold the strip ends spaced apart and to therebya'lij'ord a rigid connection between the pedals and their shanks. Asherein shown the said filling piece is U-shaped, the parallel membergthereof being arranged above and below the attaching rivets 49.

As a further and separate improvement, the middle pedal 4L7 is madesubstantially shorter than the side pedals, so as to provide at thefront of the group or bank of pedals a central recess that may bereadily distinguished by the touch of the foot of the player, so thatthe player may with accuracy differentiate the pedals one from the otherand may unhesitatingly depress a pedal thus located without thenecessity of looking under the key board to locate the pedals by sight.The player will find this feature of value when he first seats himselfat the piano, or at any time thereafter in case he should remove hisfoot from the bank of pedals. The player will be at perfect ease,therefore, with respect to the proper ma nipulation of the pedals andhis attention will not be distracted from the artistic side of theperformance by the purely mechanical effort of locating the properpedal. The arrangement shown is superior to an arrangement where themiddle pedal is as long or slightly longer than the side pedal, for thereason that the shortening of the middle pedal provides a space orrecess between the side pedals and at the end of the middle pedal whichthe player will always recogniZe by the touch of the foot. This space iscentrally located with respect to the side pedals, and the player isfree to depress either of the pedals without hesitation or withoutassuring himself by sight. The arrangement of the pedals shown bringsabout the result desired without marring the appearance or destroyingthe symmetry of the group or bank of pedals. In connection with thearrangement shown the side pedals may be turned outwardly at their endsto increase the width of the central space or recess of the pedal bank.This arrangement permits the middle pedal to be made slightly wider toafford awider bearing for the foot thereon, and also in alike mannerincreases the width of the side or outer pedals.

The hinge or pivot springs for the levers 22, 23 each comprises anoblique foot member 52 attached to the base 16, a brace member attached.to said foot member and to the base and a straight, horizontallyarranged attaching member 54 which is joined to the foot member by acurved spring member The said horizontal attaching members 54 arearranged beneath and parallel to the swinging levers 22, 23 and saidswinging levers are attached rigidly thereto by the following devices:57 designates an eye bolt through the eye of which the lever extends,and the shank 58 of said eye bolt extends downwardly through an openingin the horizontal attaching member 54 of the pivot spring and isscrew-threaded at its lower end to receive a clamping nut 59. Interposedbetween said attaching member 54 and the lever, and arranged one at eachside of the eye bolt, are filling pieces 60, which, as shown have theform of relatively thin plates. They are shown as formed with lugs 61which set into apertures in the attaching member 54: and are formed attheir upper ends with saddle notches 62 for engagement with the undersides of the levers at each side of each eye bolt. The action of thenuts on the shanks of the eye bolts serves to draw the levers downagainst the filling pieces 60 and to fixedly clamp said filling piecesbetween the attaching members of the spring and the levers; and theengagement of the filling pieces with the levers and said attachingmembers serves to rigidly maintain the levers in fixed relation withrespect to the springs. The arrangement of the oblioue foot pieces 52and braces 53 serve to hold the springs from shifting laterally withrespect to the base or support when the levers are operated. The springaction occurs at the curved connecting portions 55 which admit ofpractically no lateral deviation of the springs and correspondinglongitudinal shifting of the levers, such as would tend to occur if theentire spring structure, from the base up, yielded in the action of thesprings. .A further feature of the lever mounting described lies in theendwise adjustability of the levers on their seats on the pivot orfulcrum springs with respect to their pedals; it being obvious that, byloosening the nuts 59, the levers may be thus shifted or adjustedendwise. This arrangement permits the inner ends of the levers to beadjusted accurately over the pedals and the other ends to be likewiseadjusted with respect to the mechanism which they control andavoidscanting of the props one way or the other and a consequent irregularaction of the levers and the parts which they control. A limitedadjustment of the fittings 33 on the levers 22 and 23 may be effectedfor a like purpose, such adjustment being permissible by reason of theclamping engagement of the fittings with said levers.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10 is shown a modified form of pedal shank 65 whichmay be employed with the 'form of pedal shown. As shown in.v saidfigures, the shank is made of a single piece of sheet metal stamped toform parallel side members 66, 66 and an integral top connecting web 67,and the attaching arms 48 of the pedal overlap the forward ends of theside members and may be riveted thereto. in the same manner shown inFigs. 6 and 7. The fulcrum bracket 68 for the pedal shanks shown inFigs. 1, 8 and 10 comprises two like-shaped members 69, 69 provided withfeet 70 by which they are fastened to the base. They are provided attheir upper ends with lugs 71, 71 which have contact with each otheronly at their upper ends and which are apertured below their upper endsto receive a clamping screw or bolt 72 by which the two members of thebracket are clamped together upon the pivot lugs 78 that are formed inthe side members 66 for engagement with pivot apertures in the bracketmembers. This form of fulcrum or pivot bracket may also be employed withother forms of pedals. The top or connecting web of the shank isprovided with a plurality of apertures 7% either one of which is adaptedto receive the lower, end of the pedal prop or rod by which the pedal isconnected to its lever. The said web is also formed near the toe rail 15with an elongated opening or slot 75 through which extends the centralmember 76 of a vertically notched mouse guard 77 attached to the innerface of the toe rail over the pedal opening, said mouse guard being likethat shown in the aforesaid prior patent to Moe. The said mouse guardbears the same relation to the pedal shank shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7as to the construction shown in the aforesaid patent to Moe.

T he pedals may be provided with a plurality of relatively low raisedprotuberances 78, 78, as indicated in Fig. 8, the purpose of which is totake the direct wear off the surface finish or plating of the pedal.

It will be understood that the structural details hereinbefore set forthare capable of some variations within the spirit and scope of theinvention, and the invention is not limited to said details except asthe same are made the subject of specific claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A. pedal comprising a foot piece, and a shank, the latter formed of asingle strip of metal bent upon itself to provide laterally separated,vertical members, said foot piece being provided with rearwardlyextending arms embracing the vertical members of the shank at theforward end of the latter, a spacing piece between said members andrivets extending through said arms, said vertical members and spacingpiece, said members being punched outwardly to form integral pivot lugs.

2. A pedal comprising a foot piece, and a shank embracing laterallyseparated members, the foot piece being provided with rearwardlyextending arms arranged in overlapping relation to said members at theforward end of the shank, rivets extending through said arms and saidmembers, and a separate spacing piece between said members of the shankat the riveted end thereof and held in place by said rivets.

3. A pedal comprising a foot piece and a shank, the latter made of asingle piece of metal bent upon itself at a point intermediate its endsto form parallel shank members, the ends of said strip being broughttoward each other with a spacing piece between them, and said foot piecebeing provided with rearwardly extending arms which are arranged inoverlapping relation to the shank strip and are riveted thereto,

' said strip being punched outwardly to form outwardly extendmg lugs.

i. A pedal comprising a foot piece, and a shank made of a single stripof metal bent to form parallel shank members, the ends of said stripbeing brought toward each other at the front end of the shank and thefoot piece being provided with rearwardly extending arms which overlapthe strip ends, rivets extending through said arms and strip ends and alJ-shaped filling piece arranged between the ends of said strip with itsmembers arranged above and below said rivets.

5. In a pedal action, the combination with a pedal provided withoppositely disposed pivot means, of a two-part bracket comprising twoseparated side members provided with pivot means complemental to thepivot means of the pedal, and a bolt for springing the members of thetwo-part bracket together and for fastening the parts together.

6. A pedal action comprising, in combination, a pedal, and a bracketcomprising separated side members between which the pedal is fulcrumed,said members provided with means whereby they may be attached to asupport and with means for springing said members yieldingly toward thepedal, the latter means also serving to fasten the parts together.

7. A pedal action comprising, in combination, a pedal, and a bracketcomprising separated side members between which the pedal is fulcrumed,said side members having apertured attaching feet and provided at theirupper ends with apertured lugs which engage only at their upper ends,and a clamping bolt extending through the apertures in said lugs.

8. In a pedal action, the combination with the pedal actuated lever andthe hinge or pivot spring having an attaching member, of an eye boltplaced over said lever with its shank extei'iding through said attachingmember, filling pieces arranged between the lever and attaching member,one at each side of the eye bolt, and a clamping nut screw-threaded tothe end of the shank of the eye bolt.

9. In a pedal action, the combination wlth the pedal actuated lever andthe hinge or pivot spring having an attaching member, of an. eye boltplaced over said lever with its shank extending through said attachingmember, clamping means engaged with said eye bolt and filling piecesengaged with said attaching member, one at each side of said bolt andformed with saddle notches to receive said lever.

10. In a pedal action, the combination with the pedal, and the swinging,pedal-actuated lever, of a fitting engaged over one end of the lover andcomprising a split sleeve having at one side apertured lugs and alsoformed at one end with an apertured lug, and a clamping bolt extendingthrough the first-mentioned apertured lugs.

11. In a pedal action, the combination with the pedal and the swinging,pedal actuated lever, of a prop connecting the pedal and lever, the saidprop being headed at its end and the pedal provided with an aperturethrough which the prop extends, and provided around said opening with aconcave socket, and the prop head being convcxly rounded, and acushioning washer between said socket and the rounded or convex portionof said head.

12. A fitting for connecting a pedal prop to a pedal-actuated, swinginglever comprising a split sleeve provided at. the sides of its splitportion with apertured lugs to receive a clamping bolt and provided atits outer end with a horizontal apertured lug to engage a prop.

13. A swinging, pedal-actuated lever provided at one end with a fittinghaving means for fastening it to one end of the lever and provided atone end with a lug having an opening andformed around. said opening witha convex socket to receive the rounded portion of a prop connection.

14;. A bank of three pedals arranged side by side, the two side pedalshavin forwardly diverging ends, and the middle pedal terminating at itsforward end short of the forwardmost portions of the side pedals tothereby provide a recess between the forward extremities of the sidepedals and in front of the extremity of the middle pedal to guide theplayer in positioning the foot upon the pedals.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our invention we affix oursignatures in the presence of two witnesses, th1s 11th day of May A. D.1910.

THEODORE H. LUNDE. RUDOLF MOE.

Witnesses:

W. L. HALL, WILLIAM GOLDBERGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

